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How Do Diet Pills Cause Weight Loss?

To eliminate excess fats rapidly, people consume weight loss products in addition to their daily diet and exercise plans. These include diet pills, which are currently having more and more popularity in the market.

Diet pills work by affecting the body processes that cause weight gain. They promote weight loss primarily by 3 ways- increasing the energy expenditure (calories burned), decreasing the number of calories absorbed during digestion, or suppressing the appetite to decrease the amount of food eaten.

Increasing the Energy Expenditure (Calories Burned)

The calories present in food are used by the body as fuel. They are consumed to give the body the necessary energy to do work. With the process called thermogenesis, calories are burned up and converted to heat while doing work. To maintain the normal functions of the body that people don’t usually think about, like breathing, a constant supply of calories or fuels is needed.

To lose weight effectively, a person must increase the amount of calories that he or she burns up every day. Before, this increase can only be achieved by exercise. However, due to the advancement of science and technology, certain drugs are now developed to cause the body to burn more calories as it performs its normal daily functions. With the help of these drugs, people are able to lose weight even though they continue to eat the same amount of food. These drugs basically work by increasing the body’s fuel requirements, ideally to a point where the body needs more calories than the person takes in from food. When this happens, the body begins to break down its fat stores as fuel. As these fat stores are used, people lose weight.

Having said these, diet pills seem to present great advantages concerning weight loss. However, despite these advantages, there remain greater drawbacks in using these pills. One of these is increasing the rate of many body processes – possibly to a point that it already becomes dangerous. Examples are increased blood pressure and heart rate, which can lead to heart problems over time. Other side effects include nervousness and insomnia.

The diet pills developed to increase the number of calories burned contain one or more of these three ingredients: caffeine, phenylpropanolamine (PPA), and ephedrine. In the United States, PPA and ephedrine have been withdrawn from the market because they produce serious side effects, including heart attack and stroke.

Types of weight loss pills that work by increasing energy expenditure – Metabolism Stimulators , Thermogenic Fat Burners , Stimulant Free Fat Burners

Decreasing Calorie Absorption

Let’s review how the digestive system works. The food is eaten, and the starch is digested in the mouth. The other undigested food contents then travel through the esophagus to the stomach. All of the food contents are digested in the stomach. The nutrients are absorbed by the large and small intestines and they travel to the bloodstream. In this manner and form, they are used as fuel for the body. When people consume more calories than they burn, the body stores the extra nutrients as fat, which accounts for weight gain.

So to be able to achieve weight loss, the amount of caloric intake must be regulated. Before, this can only be done by lessening the amount of food eaten by the person. But now, diet drugs are developed which are able to prevent the body from absorbing some of the calories contained in food. People who take these drugs can eat the same amount of food and take in the same number of calories and still lose weight, because the drug causes their bodies to absorb and use fewer calories. The excess calories are eliminated in the stool. The problem with these diet pills, however, is that they interfere with the absorption of other drugs in the body. For this reason, it is important not to take these diet pills at the same time as other medications, and to separate them by a few hours. Since these drugs affect the digestive system, including the stomach and intestines, they may also lead to side effects like diarrhea and flatulence.

Currently, the only prescription drug on the market that works by blocking the body’s absorption of calories is Orlistat, which is sold under the brand name Xenical. Orlistat specifically decreases the absorption of fats from food consumed. It’s over the counter version is sold as Alli and there are other good weight loss pills working on the same mechanism.

Types of weight loss pills that work by Decreasing Calorie Absorption – Fat Absorption Inhibitors , Carb Blockers ,

Appetite Suppression

The brain controls our appetite as it controls our thoughts and emotions. Neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) such as norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine tell the brain that the stomach feels full.

To be able to control our appetite then, the number of neurotransmitters that dictate us to stop eating already must be increased. This is how some diet drugs work. They increase the levels of the said neurotransmitters, which cause a decrease in appetite, which in turn lessens the food we eat. And as we consume less amount of food, the number of calories we intake also becomes less. Drugs that increase more than one of the neurotransmitters may be more effective for weight loss than those that increase only one. Some drugs that work in this way also have the effect of increasing the number of calories burned (thermogenesis).

Dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin have other responsibilities in the body besides dictating hunger. For example, norepinephrine also helps control blood pressure. Drugs that affect the level of these neurotransmitters interfere with other body processes and produce negative side effects. A drug that increases norepinephrine will decrease appetite, but will also increase blood pressure. Other common side effects of drugs that increase norepinephrine are dry mouth, insomnia, and constipation. Examples of diet pills that affect these neurotransmitters are sibutramine (Meridia) and phentermine (Ionamin®). Sibutramine increases norepinephrine and Serotonin while phentermine increases norepinephrine only.

Aside from the above-mentioned neurotransmitters, there are other factors that affect one’s appetite such as proteins and hormones. Many of these have already been discovered recently but others remain yet to be discovered. The finding of these important factors are very helpful for creating new diet pills formulations in the future that hopefully won’t cause any adverse effect. The most promising protein so far is leptin, which is produced by fat stores.

Understanding how hormones work in the body and how they affect satiety (the feeling of being full) is crucial to the development of new products for weight loss. Scientists continue to study different processes in the body, even at the cellular level, that can lead to weight gain. Amid the rapid increase in obesity rate, scientists continue to identify chemicals with the potential to be turned into drugs that can be used to assist weight loss. However, people are still highly encouraged to develop diet and exercise plans to lose weight in the natural way.

Read more about Appetite Suppressants

Other Mechanisms employed by weight loss pills

– Colon cleansing for weight loss
– Meal Replacement for Weight Loss
– Multi-ingredients Weight Loss Products having more than one ingredients or mechanisms.

The rate of obesity increases unceasingly every year in the United States (US). This is partly due to the Americans’ eating habits which include junk foods, burgers and sodas, which is known to have high calorie content. As the rate of obesity increases, the demand for weight loss pills also increases. This is because more and more obese people, especially those in their teenage years, look for a diet pill that can actually help them lose the extra pounds. But looking for the right diet pill can be very much confusing. There are those which can cause harmful side effects and there are those which are not as effective as the others.

So what do you look for when choosing a diet pill? What should you avoid? Here are a few tips which might help you decide what brand of pill to buy.

Consider the Side effects

The first thing that one should watch out for are the possible side effects that the drug can cause. One should be aware that not every pill available in the market is safe. Not all brands are clinically tested, and there are those which contain harmful ingredients. For example, recall the recent incident concerning Hydroxycut. This just proves that the diet pills being sold in the market are not screened or filtered enough to be considered safe.

One major ingredient most people would like to avoid is ephedra. Ephedra is a powerful stimulant that was banned in 2006 by the FDA. However, recently, it was brought back by some companies for some business reasons. The consumers should be a little more careful starting now for some companies selling weight loss products are actually using ephedrine but are hiding this fact from the public. Ephedrine is still used nowadays, not for weight loss purposes but for treatment of asthma. It is used in small amounts (25-30 mg), which is said to be legal. This small amount is unable to promote weight loss. The fat burning function of ephedra is only achieved by using larger amounts, with the risk of causing potentially serious side effects. Having said these, consumers then should check the company’s reliability and stability first before buying any product.

Another ingredient to watch out for is Clenbuterol. It is famous for its powerful and effective fat burning capabilities. Many individuals who have used it even recommend this ingredient in their homepages. It is pretty much impressive when it comes to serious weight loss and bodybuilding. But despite of its great advantages, it presents even greater drawbacks. What you may not know is that Clenbuterol is illegal, and is originally meant to be used in horses. It can be extremely dangerous, causing serious health problems. Some studies show that it can cause heart problems both on horses and humans using it. Also, the problems the ingredient can cause on horses would be multiplied on humans due to the large difference in size.

Lastly, the final ingredient that we have on our radar as an unsafe ingredient is yohimbine. It was traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine, and there are some who believe that it creates more testosterone in the body. This production of testosterone is the main reason why it is used in some diet pills and muscle builders for it creates a way to encourage fat burning and building of lean muscle mass. It is also used as a sexual enhancer or for that matter an aphrodisiac in men. The main problem with this ingredient, however, is that there are no scientific studies proving it to be a powerful and effective weight loss agent. Also, it should only be used in diet pills specifically for men due to the testosterone element. It can also trigger health problems such as heart attacks, strokes, renal failure, and severe kidney damage.

Hyped vs. Effective ingredients/products

Aside from the above-mentioned ingredients, there is one more thing that the consumers should actually look out for, and that is hyped ingredients. These hyped ingredients are what one can actually see on popular news stations and television stations. These ingredients sure are proven to be safe, but they are really not proven to be effective. In reality, these products most likely will not be effective in producing the desired results. The true results are actually always less than what the advertisements tell you. Just take for example the case of ingredients like hoodia and acai . Although there are scientific studies that prove that they can be very useful for weight loss but the problem is when a weight loss “ingredient” becomes popular, several overnight businesses pop up with their own version of the product (like in the case of hoodia and acai) each claiming to be the best product with that popular ingredient while these products might contain only very nominal amount of the ingredient or even worse, they might not contain the “ingredient” itself. This is the case with acai and hoodia today. With so many worthless products on the market, people buying them and finding these products don’t work, ultimately the conclusion is made that “acai” and “hoodia” itself does not work which is wrong. In our analysis of diet pills, we have found 2 products – one containing acai and one containing hoodia. You can read about all diet pills we recommend here.

The skinny on choosing the right diet pill

So what should you look for when searching for the right diet pill? Here’s a basic breakdown that you may find helpful in choosing the best weight loss pill.

First and foremost, do not trust free trial offers blindly. One should not consume anything unless he or she is sure that the product is at least safe.

Second, look out for products based on resveratrol, hoodia, green tea, acai, pomegranate, or other natural/herbal ingredients backed actively by the medical community. But before taking them, check the authenticity of the product and its ingredients.

Third, look for a money back guarantee. Preferably look for a lifetime money back guarantee, but at the very least, you should get 60 days.

Fourth, look for clinically proven ingredients. The producers should be able to cite clinical studies or you should be able to find them on reliable sites such as PubMed. Even better, you should look for patented ingredients. Patented ingredients are bigger, better, and oftentimes even safer.

And fifth, look for a full ingredients list. Many times, hyped up products are only focused on ingredients such as acai for example. These products only show a few “key ingredients”, which actually hides the other actual ingredients.

Few More Tips

Other than the main concerns listed above, the following tips might be helpful too:

You should watch out for sites that will not let you leave without a pop up. These are usually coupled with free trial offers. Also, look for a reasonable price, which should fall somewhere in the middle. At $5-$10, you will never find a valid weight loss pill. But you shouldn’t have to pay $80-$100.

One should also look for a variety of approaches. A weight loss pill that is just a fat burner, just an Appetite suppressant, just a cleanser, etc., will not work as effective as “multi-ingredient fat loss pills”. It is always best to find a product that is a fat burner, Appetite suppressant, blood sugar regulator, cleanser, etc. all in one.

Lastly, use a product that has lean muscle builders. When you build lean muscle mass, it increases your body’s natural metabolism. It will not make you big and bulky, but it will leave you defined and not “soft” as they put it.

There are a couple of products that are actually proven to be effective and safe by scientific studies. They are also found to live up to every requirement and to actually produce results. One of these is Phen375. It is among only a few weight loss pills to use patented weight loss ingredients, let alone to use 4 patented weight loss compounds (clinically tested fat burning and weight loss ingredients). It works to help you lose weight in every way and has 2 major different mechanisms – appetite suppression and fat burning. With these patented ingredients, you are sure to see more effective and more concentrated results without many of the usual side effects and without huge pills that would be required to get all the effective amounts were you to use the original forms of said ingredients. Read about all weight loss pills we recommend.